


Our Story

by BleedingCoffee



Series: Trope Bingo: Round 13 [5]
Category: Eureka (TV)
Genre: Community: trope_bingo, M/M, Rivals Working Together, Trope Bingo Round 13, Undeading
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:21:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21712924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BleedingCoffee/pseuds/BleedingCoffee
Summary: Jack is seeing Stark- no not like that.  He's seeing Ghost!Stark after he was dematerialized in the Time Lab and nobody else can see him.   People are worried he's hallucinating and in a last ditch effort to have him come to terms with his grief, Abby sends him on vacation to his cabin in the woods with an assignment.
Relationships: Jack Carter/Nathan Stark
Series: Trope Bingo: Round 13 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1556284
Comments: 16
Kudos: 156
Collections: Trope Bingo: Round Thirteen





	Our Story

**Author's Note:**

> AN: Based on a comment made during a Eureka reunion panel, Colin and Ed were joking about a Eureka revival where it's just Jack and Nathan living in a cabin in the woods and arguing all the time and Zoe is the Sheriff. Also inspired a little bit by an idea I've been wanting to write where a writer keeps someone alive by writing about them to keep their memories going forever, and a lot based on Ghost and Mrs. Muir.
> 
> Fill for my Trope Bingo prompt: Rivals Working Together.
> 
> Edited 1/4/2020 for typos, comma issues, words I accidentally misplaced by dragging my sleeve over the touchpad.

_Our Story_

* * *

Jack had never been the type to enjoy paperwork or the act of sitting in front of a computer looking at that paperwork. He was always a hands-on problem solver, working on gut instinct and mileage versus pouring his guts out via the keyboard. Yet here he was, sitting in his cabin looking at a blank document on a laptop and a cursor blinking at him. There was also a damned ghost staring at him that he was trying to ignore.

“There are text to speech apps if you don't know how to use the Qwerty keyboard.”

“Stark, can't you haunt someone else?” Jack said and rubbed his eyes. “At least for a little while?”

“This is your fantasy.” Nathan replied.

“This is my _hallucination_.”

“Riiiiight. Getting me alone in your cabin in the woods is how I _haunt_ you.” Nathan Stark looked around the quaint little cabin that Jack had fixed up during his attempt to get rid of him the first time. That was a few weeks after the time loop incident, now it was a few months later they were back here under different circumstances.

“Make yourself useful then. Go chop firewood if you really want to swing something that will surprise me.”

“That was an implication that I swing both ways and not that I spent my free time doing lumberjack games.” Nathan sighed. “We've been through this countless times Carter, I'm not corporeal. I can't _physically_ help you.”

“You can still go outside and pretend.” Jack said and looked at him. He leaned back in his chair and heard the floor boards squeak under him. Nathan looked back at him equally annoyed with their predicament.

“While you pretend to write your novel?” Nathan asked skeptically. “This is really not the therapy that Abby suggested, you know that? She's trying to get the voices in your head onto paper and not continue to hear your daughter complain about you talking to someone who isn't there.”

“No this is about WritingNemo.”

“NaNoWriMo, _idiot._ ”

Jack looked at his open document and sighed again. He had started seeing Nathan soon after he vanished in the time chamber thing; A week or two after that day he was supposed to marry to Allison. Initially Jack kept insisting that the scientist was really there, that he didn't get dematierialized, that he was just waiting on someone to pluck him out of thin air and put him back in his body. Everyone else said 'no' as they couldn't see him and no devices could prove his existence either. There was the regular round of explanations for why he and he alone was seeing Nathan: from guilt and trauma to Jo's 'Maybe you're seeing him because you wanted to _see_ him and resolve your sexual tension.' It went on long enough that he slowly accepted that Stark was by his side for everything, and he slipped up enough times to make the whole town worry about him. Then Zoe called her Mom and he was screwed.

Abby took over Beverly's position in Eureka after that. It was a great opportunity for her, filling the void for a psychologist in town, but it also gave Zoe a chance to stay in the town and school that reformed her. Why? Oh because it was looking like her Dad was going crazy. So Abby moved to Eureka and Zoe moved into the bed and breakfast, Abby's orders, and left Jack alone with Nathan in the bunker.

Initially they fought about it because the bunker was Zoe's home, S.A.R.A.H. might go all B.R.A.D again, and it seemed like a bad idea to leave him alone with the figment of his imagination. According to Abby, that was the point, which had set them spiraling back into the arguments and battles that were classic examples of their miserable marriage. Nathan had been more sympathetic then, providing the friendly support of another divorcee, and they had talked a little more like friends those days. It didn't last long as everyone was cranky and it made home life hell too.

Things only escalated from there. It was bad enough that Abby suggested he take a vacation, saying he could use the solitude and time in a 'non-Stark environment' to try to heal mentally. The implication was there that she was going to be professionally obligated to act soon if he didn't get his shit together. She wasn't wrong, even if Nathan felt she was, so despite his ghost rival pacing and screaming in his ex-wife's office during a therapy session...Jack agreed to take some time off. Zoe ,however, took up Nathan's cause and burst into the office yelling and pacing and echoing the ghost scientist's words. That was enough to scare him into agreeing to take an vacation _immediately_.

During the preparations for his leave, Zoe pulled some top tier level manipulation and used some career day school program to take over his job for the week. That was absolute bullshit, she didn't deny that, but nobody at Tesla wanted to be the Sheriff. Nobody ever had! She did an amazing job in her interview saying it was essential to understand science and it's use in the field and she excelled at interpersonal interactions with victims and criminals alike. He was impressed and scared by her as he stood there and listened to it and Abby just looked at him like she was shocked to see how grown up their daughter had become. Zoe even shed a tear about some test she took saying she was going to be a candidate for a Robotics degree, but felt confused and afraid of her future because she didn't feel like it was her calling. The result was that Zoe was now wearing Jo's spare uniform, his badge and sitting at his desk being Sheriff Carter while he tried to be Jack Carter....struggling writer.

“You're really good at this.” Nathan yawned. “The suspense is killing me.”

“Shut up.” Jack said. He clicked the other tab on his Word program where there was a started piece he didn't quite like, but other ideas weren't coming right now. It was something to work with.

“Can you take dictation?” Nathan asked and knew that wasn't the case from the way he pecked at the keyboard like a hen looking for food.

“Can you stop being inappropriate, at least during the day?”

“I said _dictation_ , not dick.” Nathan said and then looked at him, “What do you mean by 'at least during the day'. Are we going to start having inter-dimensional phone sex? Cruel considering I don't have a body but it's not like you don't call out my name occasionally while you sleep so..”

“Oh my God!” Jack stood up and kicked his chair over in the process. He walked around the small cabin and tried to focus. Stark was getting worse and that meant his mental health was obviously deteriorating according to Abby. She wanted to sit and talk with him about this, like a shrink, and he had just smiled and laughed and made jokes. So she told him to go to the cabin, submit these novel updates as proof of life and sanity and she'd let him off the hook for a ruining their therapy session. She knew him well, she knew he was the kind of guy who had to work his own shit out and needed to stop using work as an escape in order for that to happen. Then he'd come back to her for help. “Look, I'm not writing this as a romance novel so my ex-wife can read into my obvious attraction to my rival.”

“Rivals to lovers is a popular trope.” Nathan chirped and watched Jack fret, he was really ready to have a mental breakdown and there was nothing Nathan could do about it. He had tried everything in his power to get himself back to corporeal form and it didn't work. Now he had to keep Jack from losing his mind over this because part of him feared being lost to this world entirely if Jack no longer saw him. Plus, he had to admit he also had misread his feelings for Jack and was marrying Ally again for the wrong reasons. Being by the Sheriff's side non stop for almost six months was not the hell he originally complained it was and now he was genuinely worried about Jack falling apart. “Listen, Abby suggested this writing challenge because it is a way for you to see results via the daily word count. You are results oriented. It's a reward for you.”

“It's a report of my condition _for her._ ”

“She still cares about you and we both know you're not inspiring a lot of confidence in your sanity right now.”

“And who's fault is that?” Jack asked and glared at him.

Nathan rolled his eyes. “I believe _you're_ the one who kept turning to me for answers.”

Jack grabbed a beer out of the cooler and sat down on it. “So, what is _this_ exactly? I mean, I know you're told me a hundred times what you are and where you are and why it's happened but you and I haven't been able to fix it. So maybe we should figure out what exactly _w_ e are because I think I need the next week to become a better actor and you be a better ghost.”

“You need to write something or your therapist is going to come out here and scrutinize you some more.” Nathan reminded him.

“Nathan, why can't you just admit you're...”

“Forgotten by everyone else? Including my pregnant fiance? “ Nathan asked. “Admit that I am by your damned side day and night because you are the only one I believe can fix this?”

“I was going to say 'scared'.” Jack said.

“I think that goes without saying.”

“I think a lot went without saying.”

They looked at each other and then the moment was ruined by the sound of tires on gravel. Nathan broke eye contact first and went to the window and announced, “Sheriff Carter is here.”

“That's going to take some getting used to.” Jack said and went to the door and opened it to see his daughter getting out of his Jeep. He wanted her to be a doctor or something so damned bad, but his heart did swell with pride looking at her wearing a uniform and doing his job. He walked onto the porch to greet her. “Sheriff.”

“Dad.” Zoe said and walked over to the porch and smiled at him. “Beer at 10 am? So writing is going well, I see.”

“Look at you with your slick detective work.” Jack smiled proudly.

“Look at you meeting me at the door so I don't come inside and see a blank page on your laptop.” Zoe countered.

“Yeah, caught me.” Jack said and straightened his arms out and offered his wrists to be handcuffed. “Better take me in and lock me up.”

“No.” Zoe said. “This is _my_ job to do without your supervision, thank you. You're not sitting in the jail cell and making comments about how I'm supposed to do your job.”

“Oh, so we're not trading places for a week? I can't be the delinquent?” Jack smiled at her and she looked at him like maybe she got some pointers from Lupo about how to flip a guy over and snap his neck.

“I made up identities _not_ imaginary friends.” Zoe shot back.

“Ouch.” Nathan said. He liked Zoe and continued to be impressed by her. Jack didn't get enough credit for raising a good kid, she clearly learned quite a bit from him.

“Nathan and I... kinda were friends.” Jack said and heard Nathan snort in amusement.

“That's just your imagination.” Nathan said with a smile. He didn't mean it and Jack knew it. They had become something between friend and an old sitcom married couple bickering nonstop.

“Dad, you know what I mean.” Zoe said and put her hands on her hips and said, “Are you going to let me in?”

“Do you have a warrant?” Jack asked with a smile and sipped his beer. This was kinda fun.

“Do you want lunch?” She countered and started backing away and shrugged at him. “If not, I'll share it with my very supportive and very competent deputy who would love to have _my_ job when I go back to school and you're fired for failing your psych evaluation.”

“OK, you win.” He said and followed her to his Jeep. He sipped his beer and looked at the dashboard and saw something sitting there. “Is that.... my ticket book?”

“Yeah, Jo said you wouldn't recognize it.” Zoe said and shook her head. She opened the passenger side door and handed him his lunch from Cafe Diem.

“I write tickets.” Jack said defensively.

“You wrote a lot of tickets” Zoe picked up the book and ran her thumb over it. “Namely to offender, Dr. Nathan Stark.”

“Now we're getting somewhere.” Nathan laughed. “Get him Zoe! Bust him for that illegal speed trap!”

“He had a speeding problem.” Jack explained.

“And you were always parked on Old Post Road at the time he was coming or going to work?” Zoe asked. "A guy that didn't keep regular hours?"

“That's the place to speed.” Jack said. 

“You really should have just written your phone number on these instead of filling them out.” She said, threw the book back in the car and carried the food inside.

“Really, Carter? Were you abusing your position of authority to chase me and get my attention?” Nathan said with a grin. “How _did_ you want me to pay for those tickets?

Jack glared at him. He wasn't going to talk to Nathan with Zoe here, he hoped that might get out of writer jail for good behavior if he didn't act crazy. “He liked to speed, I liked to chase him. It was our thing. Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote. This town is the Acme factory. It's fitting.”

“Beep beep.” Nathan said as he cut Jack off and went into the cabin ahead of him.

“I know Mom thinks you're struggling with the guilt of Stark dying, because you couldn't save him and you're probably going to make a move on Allison when she is ready.” Zoe said.

“That's going to get weird.” Nathan chirped. “Ally is definitely not going to like sharing you with me and your job.”

Jack glared at him some more as Zoe put lunch on the table. He mouthed 'Shut up' at him.

“However Jo and I agree that this has nothing to do with Allison and more to do with you and Stark.” Zoe continued.

“Not this again.” Jack said and sipped his beer. Nathan blew him a kiss. What the hell was wrong with him?

“You're mourning a loved one. Unrequited love.” Zoe said. “I think that requires a different approach.”

“He's hardly given me a reason to love him.” Jack said and shook his head. He just asked him to behave and not five minutes later he's being an ass again! Who was the idiot? Not him.

“Give me time.” Nathan said and looked over Zoe's shoulder to see what lunch was.

“Really?” Zoe asked. “You two flirted shamelessly.”

“Guilty.” Nathan admitted with a shrug.

Jack tried to not look at him but his smile was really hard to ignore and then he saw Zoe's look and knew it was too late. “I'm flirty with everyone. It's called charisma.”

“You're seeing him.” Zoe said.

“I guess this does qualify as dating.” Nathan admitted.

“Yes I see him and he needs to shut up.” Jack sighed as he saw her disappointed look. “Hey, I'll prove it to you.”

“You've tried.” She said. “And I called Mom because I'm really worried about you.”

“Jack, just drop it. This isn't getting you anywhere.” Nathan said and looked at the computer to see what he wrote. So far he wrote a scene about a murder. There was a cop and a lab tech and they were bantering back and forth like it was an episode of CSI that was going to turn into a porno on page 2. “Nor is this. This is going to make it seem like you want to have sex at a crime scene! Do not let her read this!”

“Yeah and I am working on it.” Jack said and Zoe turned to look at the computer and he added, “Hey! I'm a shy writer. I don't like people peeping at my work.”

“That doesn't sound suspicious at all.” Nathan drawled.

“Maybe I can write your police reports for you?” Jack offered.

“No.” She said and turned away from the computer and sat down for lunch.

“Good save.” Nathan leaned against the desk and looked at the ceiling. “Please don't get fired, Jack. I need you in Eureka to help me get my body back and in the event we fail....I need you to help raise my kid.”

Jack looked at him and sank into his chair. That...wasn't something he considered. Nathan living through him vicariously...which presented some weird images of his sexual fantasies with Allison that were eerily similar to that dream about kissing her during the Suenos dream machine situation. “What about your homework?”

“No thank you. I need my G.P.A. to get into college. I don't actually want your job, Dad.”

“Call 9-1-1. I think I just witnessed a murder.” Nathan said and saw Jack looking at him like he had an idea. “What?”

“What if _I_ do your homework to prove that Nathan is real?” Jack asked. “I don't have internet access here, that's the whole point to making me come _here_. I can only submit my novel work to the intranet site your Mom set up. I don't have Google or anyone to help me fake your homework. Just Nathan.”

“Give me all the homework.” Nathan said impressed with this idea. It would help get one person off their backs and maybe get everyone a little more serious about getting him back in his body.

“He wants to do all of it.” Jack said. “I'm going to let him.”

“Fine.” Zoe said. “If this is what it takes, then I will give you all my homework and be back tonight to get it.”

“Great!” Jack said and looked to Nathan. “I finally have a use for you!”

“Go get it now.” Nathan said. “Don't let her change her mind!”

“He wants to start immediately.” Jack said. “Can I have it now?”

“Fine.” She said and got up to go get her backpack from the Jeep. “If this doesn't work, I need you to start taking this condition seriously. OK?”

“Promise.” Jack said and she left to get her stuff.

Nathan smiled. “Good job Carter! Now come delete this story.”

“Thanks.” Jack said and went over to shut down his laptop without saving his story. “I hope you're real Nathan. I'm not sure what I'm going to do if this proves you're not.”

“Don't lose faith in me now, Jack.”

“Yeah.” He went back over to the table and sat down, “When you said, 'I'll be seeing you around' I didn't think you meant like this.”

“When I'm back in my body, I'll make up for it. I promise.”

Jack sat down at the table and looked up at him. “Yeah. You and me both.”

* * *

Jack thought that hours of Tesla level homework would make him want to cry, but it was way better than writing his novel and he actually really liked Nathan when he was excited about science. He talked through a lot of the equations and principles, laughed at some really poorly worded problem he intended to point out to the physics teacher with his answer, and then blew him away by doing complex mathematics in his head. This was the guy he could really fall for, but it rarely surfaced.

“How do you specialize in _everything_?” Jack finally asked as they completed 6 hours worth of Zoe's homework in about half the time. Only because he was slow in writing it, as Nathan pointed out constantly.

“Everything _but_ figuring out how to re-materialize.” Nathan said and tried to tap his fingers on the table with no luck.

“ _We_ haven't tried.”

Nathan rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair and looked at him. “ _Really_ , Carter? I guess we were just talking to all those scientists at GD about nothing for the last six months.”

“Well you told me to yell stuff at people.”

“You didn't yell.” Nathan recalled. “You casually suggested.”

“Yelling and scaring people is your thing.” Jack replied with a laugh. “I do my dumb sheriffing thing and _we_ combine to make one hell of a team because of those two different approaches. We, however, haven't worked together on this.”

“That's right Jack, three hours of homework make you more qualified than me with three PhDs.”

“Don't be a dick.”

“You're not stuck in space time, you don't get to tell me to not get frustrated. This is the one thing I can't fix!”

Jack sighed. “At least I'm immune to you yelling at me. Dumb idea. You're right.”

“Usually am.”

Jack rubbed his face, picked up his beer and went back to his laptop. He turned it on and had his thoughts to himself while it booted up. So much for trying to help. Nathan was a handful most days, but ghost Nathan was more volatile and all personality because of his lack of body. Jack decided to do as instructed and put his frustrations into writing. Even if he did Zoe's homework to win his daughter over, Abby was still going to need to see he was committed to not being crazy with this homework.

Nathan watched Jack type, poking at the keys like he had to stare at the board to find the letters but in reality he was thinking through each word carefully. He had hurt his feelings when he was trying to help him and it was unfair to take it out on the one person who believed in him. “Jack..”

“Just let me get my word count done, would you? I don't care what Abby sees in this I just want it done.”

“I'm sorry.” Nathan said and heard the typing stop. “I'm frustrated with myself and I take it out on you. You are usually right as well. It does take a long and winding path to the destination, but you find your way to the answer in a way that is very distinctly you. You get results and I appreciate that. I appreciate what you're doing for me.”

“Then stop being such an asshole.” Jack said and went back to typing. “I'm about to lose my job and my family over you.”

Nathan glanced at him and those words hit hard. He lost his family and job once too, but that was because of his own mistakes. He lost them again because he did the right thing. Jack was trying so hard for him and put up with so much and he wasn't the least bit appreciative. “I don't deserve you, Jack Carter.”

“You sure don't.” Jack said and sighed. He leaned back and pointed at his computer. “Why don't you help me with some ideas. If you're really a figment of my imagination then it's not like I'm stealing your ideas if I use them.”

“Alright.” Nathan stretched out and was glad he didn't have a body or else his body would be screaming at the discomfort of these rustic chairs. “Handsome but dumb cop comes to a small town and stays because of arrogant scientist's amazing abs.”

Jack looked over his shoulder at him and saw a huge grin and let that compliment slide. “I think this is one of those correlation versus causation things.”

“Look at you with the big words.” Nathan said.

“I learn things.”

“Do you? “ Nathan asked. “For example, if the Sheriff sees the new Director of GD half naked...”

“Is this really going to be our story?” Jack asked as he waved at his computer. He found himself grinning. They argued but came back around fast. It was them and he genuinely liked it.

“Maybe.” Nathan said and looked at Jack's smile. He could light up a room with his cheerful personality, the same room Nathan darkened with his own menacing persona. It happened all the time. “Maybe it is _our_ story.”

“That's a lot of emphasis on the 'our'.” Jack said. “Makes it sound like this is going to be a romance novel about us.”

“Or it's just _us_.” Nathan said with a shrug and Jack's smile faded into confusion. “Causation: You come in and see me naked and want to stay in Eureka.”

“I was transferred here.” Jack reminded him. “I didn't ask for this job.”

“Correlation: there is a relationship between you seeing me spread out on a gurney for your viewing pleasure and...”

“And you accusing me of sleeping with your wife?” Jack interrupted before he got on a roll with his 'teaching' voice. Jack liked that relaxed tone too much, it wasn't going to help him get his writing done.

“I was feeling you out.”

“You were not!” Jack said and laughed. “Liar!”

“I came back here for a job, Jack, not my wife. Do you honestly think I need to take off my shirt and unzip my pants for a blood draw?”

“In this town, people like being naked.” Jack said with a shrug. “I don't judge.”

Nathan let it slide but Jack was already in a better mood and it lifted up his own. They had danced around this topic for months, from the beginning of Jo's teasing to the inevitable admission that they were attracted to each other. It was painful to go any further than that because Nathan was still a ghost for the foreseeable future. “OK, new idea. You know about the criminal justice system so write about a trial. I'd make a great lawyer, I look amazing in suits and love manipulating people. I'll try and make you come undone on the stand.”

“Why is everything about you?” Jack said. “Stop making my shitty romance novel about you.”

“I might need it to live forever, keep my memory alive in the hearts and minds.... and pants of your readers.” Nathan said.

“Yeah, your ego doesn't need more masturbatory material.” Jack looked back at his computer and opened up a new tab.

“Now who's going straight to erotica from romance?”

“Maybe I should write a screenplay instead?” Jack asked. “Less about you and more about the actor playing you.”

“Maybe you should stop working yourself up before you make me go outside while you look for lotion.”

“We talked about these boundaries, Nathan.” Jack said and had to turn around to look at him again. That was the point---as there was a huge, beautiful grin on his face. “No ghosts during self-care time.”

“You called out for me.” Nathan said. “I thought you were in danger.”

“It was a nightmare!”

“Not by the way you were moaning.” Nathan said with a suggestive grin.

“Stop!” Jack said. “Help me with my damned book or go outside and sit on the porch. Bad ghost! _Bad_!”

“Fine.” Nathan cleared his throat. “We'll discuss why I get you this worked up at a later time.”

“I need a story, Nathan. I need to submit something, I'm running out of time!” Jack groaned. “I need to do my homework.”

Nathan sighed. “Go back to your police procedural. Write out our dialogue and we'll fill in the details later. I don't want to be your partner, that's too cliché.”

“Want to be the victim?” Jack asked as he started typing and smiled again.

“Yes, Abby will love your overly sexualized description of the dead guy you describe as being me.” Nathan watched Jack wince.

“I'll just write dialogue. We're good at that. We'll banter and I'll write it down.”

“Pretty sure that will come out as you wanting to fuck the dead guy as well.” Nathan drawled.

“Give me ideas then!” Jack said.

“Fine. Police procedural. I'll be forensics.” Nathan said and waved at the table. “You're the flirty detective who keeps coming down to hit on my ex-wife, the medical examiner. I want to win her back so I go to the field with you and show off my science skills. You can't get enough of my science. You wear a shoulder holster.”

“Abby is going to have me committed.” Jack said and hung his head.

“Write it from my perspective.” Nathan said. “Then you're not a thinly-veiled self insert character.”

“How is _that_ better?” Jack asked.

“Shoulder holster makes everything better.” Nathan titled his head back and looked at the ceiling. “How is this hard? Why is writing hard?”

“Let's try a different genre.” Jack said. “We'll work with something else.”

“Want to be a scientist and I'll be the cop?” Nathan offered.

“I don't want to role-play, Nathan, I want to write something that has nothing to do with us! Just throw out ideas! Go!”

“Let's remember I make better decisions than you do and that I work too much to watch movies.” Nathan said. “You throw out ideas and I'll shoot them down. What have you watched recently with Jo and Zoe?”

“Oh that's a good approach.” Jack said. “Historical romance?”

“Are you a history major? I'm not.” Nathan said.

“Vampires?” Jack asked.

“Really?” Nathan asked. “You can see either of us in that role?”

“Problem of the week caused by magical, spiritual evil force in a small New England town?”

“Now you're Stephen King?” Nathan smiled, Jack was smiling. This was oddly fun.

“President and secret service agent?”

“I'd make a hell of a President but I'm not up on my current events due to being dematerialized and you not watching more than the Sports segment of the news.” Nathan shrugged.

“Hallmark feel good Christmas movie? Werewolf hunter? Serial killer lulling a forensic scientist into a false sense of security before attempting murder?” Jack searched for anything else. “Charming family sitcom? Hot model surfer dude meets multilingual Canadian comic and they go to Tijuana...”

“What about baseball?” Nathan asked now that he was thinking about his sole source of news: SportsCenter. “Your life revolves around Eureka and the only thing you ever watch is baseball.”

“Yeah.” Jack nodded and he felt like this was finally something he could work with. “I know about that.”

“What position did you play?” Nathan asked and sat up. He never asked about Jack's baseball days, it seemed like something he did in high school that ended there.

“I was a pitcher.” Jack said.

There was a sound to his voice that said that the memories of those days had a lot of weight. It wasn't just some after school sport for him. “Any good?”

“Yeah.” Jack shrugged. “Had a scholarship to go to UCLA. Got scouted by some of the majors too.”

“Seriously?” Nathan asked.

“I had a wicked fastball.” Jack said and reached up and rubbed his shoulder and said, “Car accident ended that.”

“Oh.” Nathan said.

“Yeah, so I ended up going to the police academy instead. Couldn't pay for college without that scholarship. It was a free ride, not that I had ever considered I would do anything but play ball for a living.”

“Let's make it happen.” Nathan said.

“I tried that and got handed a virtual bat.” Jack said and looked over his shoulder at Nathan who looked like he was finally interested in something he said. That made him regret it so he looked away. He looked like he was about to start asking questions and he knew him well enough to know where those questions would lead. There was no way to not bring up the accident or Angela and that wasn't something he wanted Nathan to have on him. “I'm going to go for a walk, clear my head. Then we can start this.”

Nathan watched him stand up and just leave. The shock of it left him sitting there with his mouth open. He didn't know what brought that on, but he wished he could look up Jack's records to find out what happened, see his medical records and determine what his injury was. Maybe see what he looked like as a teenager in a different uniform. Mostly because he wanted the information without asking for it. He stood up and thought about giving Jack space, but the silence of the cabin was deafening as soon as he left. They weren't in busy Eureka or GD where he could find something to keep him grounded, he was in the middle of the woods with only Jack Carter as his attachment to reality. He was scared to be alone like this, so he went after him.

* * *

“You're following me.” Jack said and turned on him and was about to yell when he saw the look on Nathan's face. The look of a man who was between worlds and didn't really know what he was. The look of someone who was afraid that this might be the end of him if he let the one person who saw him walk away. Jack remembered how terrifying watching people vanish could be from that therapy device fiasco. “Fine. This is about therapy and letting people go, so I'll tell you.”

Nathan came to a stop and he could feel the fear of blinking out of existence grip him. “Jack...whatever I said...”

“Nathan, just shut up for once and let me talk.”

Nathan stood there as Jack looked at the ground and put his hands on his hips and composed himself. For once, he was the one confused.

“Angela Fairfield. She was my girlfriend.” Jack said. “I was 17, she was 16. I was teaching her how to drive. She did great but we were still kids. Stupid kids. We celebrated and we drifted into the next lane and...then she was gone. That crash, took away her life and the life I thought I'd have. I lived though, so I can't complain about losing playing some game when she lost the ability to see another day.”

Nathan watched him close his eyes and then cover them with his hand. He wanted to reach out and touch him but his hand just passed right through him.

“Second time in a year I've had to tell this story. First Zoe and now you.” Jack said and opened his eyes to see Nathan trying to put his hand on him, a pained look on his face. The act meant something, even if he couldn't feel it. “She died because I was irresponsible. It was an accident but it doesn't mean it doesn't weigh on me. It doesn't mean it wasn't my fault.”

“Kim's death weighs on me, I understand.” Nathan said. Unable to touch him he had to offer something. He gave him the truth. Something he had never vocalized or allowed himself to admit. “Sabotage may have caused the explosion but it was my relentless needed to sample the artifact that put us in the situation.”

Jack looked at him through blurry eyes and said, “The Artifact.”

Nathan watched him think, as only Jack could. It's like it was a full body experience for him as he worked through his thoughts. Originally he mocked him for it, now he found that so endearing. From the brink of tears to suddenly bright eyed and on the scent of something else. Truly unique to Jack. “Probably not a good thing to write about considering it's classified, but that is one way to make sure it gets redacted before Abby reads it.”

“No, this is about you. About getting _you_ back.” Jack said and cocked his head. “Kevin was attached to the Artifact, even if we detached him...could he have retained that knowledge?”

“I assume...” Nathan wanted to kick himself for not thinking of that.

“We never asked for _his_ help.” Jack said. “We never asked Keven to bring you back and he is the go to guy to solve the unsolvable here in Eureka.”

“You're right. I'm not smart enough to solve this.” Nathan said, wishing he had just gone to the right person for help to begin with. No, he did. He went to Jack first, but he was the one who sent him on the indirect route all over Eureka.

“Holy shit.” Jack said. “I can't believe you said that. Are you going to blink out of existence now?”

“Kevin has always been smarter than me, I've never said he wasn't.” Nathan smiled. 

“Well we need to go talk to him right now because from what I've seen, you're a great Dad. Callister and Kevin believed that too. You've got a baby on the way and he or she deserves you.” Jack said. "You deserve that life Nathan. I watched too many people die and I can't stand knowing what you are missing out on."

“That means a lot.” Nathan said and he was genuine. "However you're not allowed to leave the cabin and there is no way Ally will let you see Kevin when you're on leave for a mental condition."

“We've been going at this story all wrong.” Jack said. “We're the ones who need saved and I think our kids need to save us.”

“That makes no sense, but I trust you Jack.”

“Let's get back to the cabin, I'll explain it. I think I got a story idea.”

* * *

“Wow.” Zoe said and looked over at her Dad who was waiting for her to finish reading over her homework. He was smiling at her, like he was waiting to unveil more than just his ability to finish her school work. “I guess I owe an apology to Dr. Stark.”

Jack looked over at Nathan who jumped out of his chair in celebration and raised his arms over his head in a show of victory. He smiled, because this was the Nathan he loved to see. “You believing in him is more than enough.”

“Oh God, Dad, I'm so sorry.” She said and he looked at her like he didn't hold a grudge at all. He should.

“You did what you thought was best and that means a lot to me.” Jack admitted. “It all did sound crazy.”

“Not for Eureka.” She said.

“OK, so I need you to do us a favor.” Jack said and waved his hand to indicate it was also for Nathan who came back to the table to sit next to him. “Do you think you can help Kevin apply for this school program you took advantage of, so he can be director of GD for a week? Can you convince Allison to let him take her job, maybe let him do some of the walking around stuff so that she can be pregnant and off her feet at her desk?”

Nathan grinned and looked over at Jack. “I swear Jack, I really want to kiss you for this. This is brilliant.”

Zoe leaned back in her chair in awe of him. He was glowing and she imagined it was because of whatever Stark was saying to him. “If I couldn't convince scientists to do things in order to solve the mistakes GD created, would I really be worthy of the title of Sheriff Carter?”

Jack felt his smile fade. That was way too high of a compliment for her. “You...you've done something I'm going to get pissed about. What did you do?”

“I might have written a ticket today and put your phone number on it.” She said and straighten out some papers in front of her. “I thought you were pining for Dr. Stark so I thought I'd get him off your mind with someone else.”

“Like who?” Jack asked.

“She's new in town. Drives like a lunatic, parks like an idiot....sassy and sarcastic. Really hot, but definitely reminded me of a girl Stark. No offense to your ghost boyfriend.”

“Who the hell is she talking about?” Nathan asked and tried to smack Carter with no result, so he leaned in front of him. “Ask her who she's talking about!”

“Nathan's throwing a tantrum.” Jack explained. “Can you tell him who you're setting me up with?”

“Sorry, I know how possessive you get about your love interest.” Zoe mumbled and as soon as her Dad looked at her slightly confused she said loudly, “Dr. Tess Fontana.”

“Tess?” Nathan squelched. “I am not like Tess, _at all_!”

“Easy there tiger.” Jack said and waved him away. “Who's that and why is she in town?”

“Sorry, that's police business. Need to know.” Zoe said and stood up. “I'll get Kevin into GD, no problem. You need to write or none of this is going to matter. I hope it's better than that crime scene porn you wrote earlier. I don't need a PhD in psychology to see the warning signs in that."

Jack watched her leave and heard the tires spin. He turned and saw the blank screen and sighed. Nathan was mumbling to himself. “Yeah, I need to start writing Kevin instructions on how to get to the time lab, what we did to fix the loop and everything you think you know about your ghost situation. All while making it seem like a young adult novel about an autistic protagonist trying to save his Dad.”

“You need to start writing.” Nathan said as Jack closed his eyes, overwhelmed by the scope of what they had to accomplish with his story. “Tess is probably here to fill in for Ally when she goes on maternity leave and that means Ally is getting ready to do that sooner than planned. If Ally isn't in charge, using the career day program won't be an option. We need access to the time lab or this won't work!”

* * *

_Three days later._

“Rivals working together, that's what this is?” Tess asked as a very alive and able bodied Nathan Stark leaned over her desk and tried to intimidate her. “That's what you called this, Jack? This book of yours?”

“Yes. An inspirational novel about overcoming perceived mental issues and proving everyone wrong.” Jack said watched Nathan roll his eyes at him. God he missed him. He was so glad he was back from the dead.

Tess laughed and looked at Nathan. “So let me get this straight. I come in to take over GD while my best friend goes on maternity leave to have _your_ baby, after you vanished into space time the day of your wedding, and in six months you determined that you were not in love with her but with the local Sheriff who you butted heads with _for years_. The same man who thought he was in love with Ally himself.”

“What does this have to do with getting my job back, Fontana?” Nathan said and she smirked at him and ignored him.

Tess looked over at Carter. “And you were the only person who saw him for six months and were so convinced he was real that you risked being fired for mental instability. Six months of being by Ally's side and agreeing to help her grieve as well as be the birthing coach for Nathan's baby, who you more than likely would raise like your own.”

“I think that sums it up.” Jack said.

“The best part is....” Tess said to nobody in particular. “Is that now that Nathan and Ally have determined that re-marrying was a bad idea, Jack and Nathan might have been a thing all along? Why didn't you write this story? It's good shit. Instead you wrote a book that was immediately flagged as a security breach.”

Jack cocked an eyebrow at her smirk. Oh...Zoe had an eye for this stuff. He liked her but definitely was already taken. “Well we needed to get Kevin instructions on what to work on at GD somehow. He needed access to the time lab so he could re-calibrate the machine and bring Nathan back. I was sort of in detention in the woods and Ally wasn't going to let Kevin come camping with me when I was talking to the ghost of her dead fiance. ”

Tess looked up as Nathan seemed content to stay silent and let Jack do the explaining. How cute. “True.”

“So, why is it a problem? Why can't we start the process to help him get his job back?” Jack asked.

“It's Ally's job. I'm a substitute.” Tess said. “And both of you are flagged as major security risks even if Nathan filled out the undeading form. You're on thin ice with your shrink too. Eureka is really looking like a shitshow from where the higher ups are sitting.”

“Which is why I am the more suitable one for the job, having the experience as director.” Nathan growled but put on a smile for her. "The DoD knows that."

“Didn't you blow up half of GD with the Artifact?” Tess asked. “Didn't you _just_ conspire with Sheriff Carter to put a kid in the director's office so he could access the time lab that could unravel the universe?”

“Technically I was dead when that happened.” Nathan smirked and she narrowed her eyes at him.

“Just another day in Eureka.” Jack said with a shrug and both of them looked at him annoyed. "Ghost writer is a real ghost. Go figure."

“Well, back to this great novel about a young autistic boy saving his father and father figure.” Tess said and held up the manuscript.

“I'm not quite sure why you got that.” Jack said.

“Your ex-wife handed it to me when I asked about letting Ally's ex-husband back into GD.” Tess said and dropped the book and leaned over her desk in annoyance. “And now you two are dating. The DoD is going to explode if I submit Nathan's request along with your relationship forms, along with your psychological evaluations along with....an explanation of the red alert redaction notice for a NaNoWriMo project.”

“I don't actually upload the work.” Jack said sheepishly. “Just my word count and Abby was the only one who read the book. Well. Abby....Kevin...you...”

“We needed to write the book so that Jack could keep his job and it also allowed me to give instructions to Kevin.” Nathan shrugged. “Hardly the worst thing that's happened all week. Hell, next week I help Kevin write his research paper on what he just accomplished with space time and that will probably get him a Nobel.”

“That's why it's been flagged.” Tess said and looked up at Nathan. “You helped Jack write a book that has extremely sensitive information in it that is a blueprint through GD and it's computer systems. Information only a director could have. Kevin read it.”

“In his defense, Nathan was legally dead when he ghost wrote it.” Jack said and she rolled his eyes and smiled at him. The excuse was clearly getting old.

"Do you think that anyone believes you wrote a book in three days without help?" Nathan asked. 

“OK. Tell me ex-Director Stark, what do I do with this?” Tess asked.

“Redact it.” Nathan said. “Burn it. Why would you hand that over?”

“It's a inspirational young adult novel!” Jack said . “It's not an X-file, it's fiction.”

“And if you were around back in the day writing fan-fiction about the X-Files, you'd know all about the overreaction of the parent company over _mere fiction_.” Tess said and Nathan quirked an eyebrow. “Don't judge me. We all need creative outlets.”

“So how bad is it?” Jack asked.

“Your novel was an instruction manual to break into the most secure and advanced scientific facility in the world.” Tess said. “What do you think?”

“Great stories are layered with metaphor.” Jack said and cleared his throat. “Look, I wrote that. If they want to come after me for it, then I take full responsibility.”

“Jack..” Nathan said.

“I wrote it.” Jack said. “If they want to fire me or lock me up for it, I understand.”

“I need you both to lay low for a while, that's all.” She said as Nathan began to puff up beside her, about to start yelling. he wanted to get right back to work, some things never changed. “Ally needs you both, as does Eureka. I also don't want to go back to dealing with the other Sheriff Carter because she's a little eager to hand out traffic tickets and a motherload of attitude with it.”

“How long?” Jack asked.

“Jack.” Tess said and pointed to Nathan. “Technically he's not employed at GD so your relationship is not any of the DoD's concern. You're on medical leave. He needs to be vetted and go into therapy for being undead for months. The book, well I suppose I'll change a few things and hand it back to you edited since I am part of the writing community as well.”

She winked at him and Jack smiled. Yeah, maybe in another time they could have been something. “Thanks.”

“And you.” Tess said and poked Nathan. “Are going to help me bullshit my way around this minefield and in doing so earn your way back into it. I don't want your job, Nathan, nobody does. Ally has other priorities now, she just wasn't willing to turn over the reins of GD to anyone but you.”

“Well.” Nathan said and considered that. “I'd be happy to consult.”

“So go home, enjoy some quality time with Ally and then your new baby while I hold down the fort.” She said and pulled the book over to her and grabbed a pen. “Maybe do some consulting work with the Sheriff's department on the side while you're unemployed. The DoD will be knocking on your door when the time comes, they want you almost as much as Jack does.”

“Hey.” Jack said and she smiled at him and started reading. They were dismissed and it was time to make up for time missed with everyone. Starting with the slightly baffled scientist standing next to the director's desk. “So, Nathan, how about I buy you a cup of coffee?”

“Coffee's free.” Nathan said and walked over to him and kissed him on the lips. “So am I. Want to get a to-go bag and head back to your place and get our story started?”

“I mean...” Jack said. “I _am_ on vacation.”

“Good.” Nathan said and shoved him towards the door. “I just got my body back and am eager to use it.”


End file.
